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Brimstone

 

 

Yes, we will meet the selfsame brimstones, hatched in July, next spring after the overwintering – as the harbingers of a “golden summer”. The imagos of brimstones are long-lived, their age on monitoring has been up to 13 months; that is made possible by the “lifestyle” of the imagos. The butterflies rest quite considerably in summer. After a period of activity and eating of some days a holiday of a couple of days, or even a week, is taken. The life cycle proceeds with so-called „diapauses“; of course this is influenced in turn by the weather.

 

Brimstone

 

The typical forewing of brimstones can be seen already from a distance, as well as the sharp tips of the hind wings, the light-coloured wing veins and the reddish-brown spots on the wings. The male is recognizable already in flight from the yellow wing colour. The wing colour of the females is whitish-green and so a beginner butterfly enthusiast might mistake  them for the male of the large white or cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae).